


Good Friends

by karkatindenial, Vodka_Bot



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Car Accidents, Fluff, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Mutual Pining, Suggestive Themes, everyone ships them tbh, inaccurate medical procedures, it is v fluffy but there is a very angsty part that will eventually come along, it's super fluffy, nothing actually happens though, the racing au no one asked for that plays a very minor(major) part in all of this, there's this creepy guy that shows up and i'll warn about him in the chapter he comes up in, they're both 21
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-08-28 02:33:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8427883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karkatindenial/pseuds/karkatindenial, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vodka_Bot/pseuds/Vodka_Bot
Summary: In which two old rivals are college roommates, race to beat each other to the finish-line, and struggle with their blossoming romantic feelings towards each other while doing a terrible job of hiding them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first (and maybe last) time actually posting a fanfic anywhere, so pls... take it easy on me. This is actually heavily based off of a roleplay I had with tumblr user vodka-bot, and they are also beta reading everything! So thank you to them for helping to try and make my writing look nicer than it actually is c: This fanfic is sort of self-indulgent, and also for practice. And it's probably going to be... everywhere, honestly. And it will be very fluffy. These two are really in denial about their feelings, to say the least.  
> First chapter is in Lance's POV! This will mostly switch between Lance and Keith, depending on which one seems to fit the chapter.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance spends some quality time with a rival that doesn't even remember him.

Lance had woken up to quite a few weird things before. That time when his sister had to sleep in his room because they were painting her room, and he had woken up with feet in his face. Or the time he awoke on a road trip to see an odd kid licking the window of the car next to theirs. That was surreal. And there was also the time he woke up from falling asleep in the bathtub, and a spider was making a decent nest on his hand-

The point here being that Lance had woken up to quite a few unusual sights- but this was a new one.

His slumber was interrupted by the front door slamming open with a _bang_ against the back wall. Lance’s eyes snapped open, his dream being cut short. He looked towards the door, only to be blinded by the light suddenly turning on.

“What the fuck?!” Lance flailed in his bed, blinking fast.

The intruder didn’t seem to notice. Lance’s eyes adjusted enough for him to see the guy pulling in a suitcase, with a bag also flung over his shoulder. The first thing he noticed was the asshole’s hair. Who. The fuck. Has a mullet. In 2016. _This_ asshole had a mullet in 2016, _that’s_ who.

Asshole-Mc-Mullet wheeled in his suitcase, leaving it by the door. He then turned towards Lance’s bed, stepping forward. He only seemed to notice someone was actually _on the bed_ when he tried to throw his bag down onto it. His eyes raised to meet Lance’s, a startled expression rising to his face. He froze in place, staring at Lance.

“What. The fuck,” Lance repeated heatedly, arms flailing. He wondered offhandedly if maybe he should be calling the police. This college campus was known for it’s terrible security-

“Huh?” Mullet-head finally answered. He removed a pair of earbuds from his ears, blinking at Lance. He didn’t look as startled anymore. But _Jesus_ his mullet looked even _worse_ from the front. How was that even possible?

Lance shook his head at him, propping himself up on his hands. “...Who are you? Why are you in my room?”

Mullet Boy tilted his head, looking confused for a good few seconds. Then, it was like a light bulb went off underneath his pile of shitty hair. “Oh! We must be roommates. I was just assigned to this room… I didn’t think anyone would be in here.” Rightfully, he looked a little guilty.

_No wonder he just barged in here like that,_ Lance rationalized. _Still doesn’t excuse it, though. Rude._

Mullet went on, taking a step back, “You can go back to sleep if you want, while I unpack. It is kind of early.” While he stood back, Lance finally got another good look at him. He was a little shorter than Lance, by the looks of it. But he looked like he had a stronger build. His eyes were dark, as were the light rings underneath them. Lance noticed his clothes, and noted how edgy he was trying to be. A leather jacket. Seriously? Lance could have sworn this guy was from the 80’s, at this rate.

As he was trying to determine how likely it could be that his new roommate was actually a time-traveler, it was like something clicked in his mind. Lance’s eyes widened, and he pointed at him.

“Wait wait wait- Keith?! Is that you?” He asked loudly. He was probably waking up all the neighbors, but he didn’t care right now. Was that really Keith? The Keith he had known years ago- in high school? And the Keith he raced almost every month? The driver of that slick red car, fast as a bullet-

Keith just stared at Lance, looking caught off-guard. Then, slowly,”I didn’t tell you my name yet…”

Lance just sat up farther, his blankets slipping off. He barely noticed that he was still only in his underwear. He sat up, peering at Keith with interested eyes. “What are you doing here?” He was sure that was his Keith. He would recognize that terrible hairstyle anywhere.

Keith gave him an exasperated look, crossing his arms. He still hadn’t seemed to realize, yet. _He would realize soon enough._ “Did I just tell you I’m your new roommate? What is so hard to get about that? And how do you know my name?” His voice took on a harsher, more defensive tone.

“No- I mean- there must be a mistake,” Lance said, waving a hand. “Didn’t you drop out? How are you even here?”

The other boy visibly tensed, his eyes narrowing as he stared Lance down. “How did you know that?”

He still hadn’t realized…? Lance’s expression drooped a little, and he watched Keith incredulously. “You don’t remember _me?”_ Keith must have been playing some sort of game. They were literally rivals in high school! How do you just forget years of gym class spent trying to outmatch the other top-athlete in the gymnasium? And even if he forgot that- he and Lance race each other every month, for fuck’s sake! He sees him at every race!

Keith just raised an eyebrow. “No? I don’t?”

Lance gaped at him, speechless for a second. How could he even explain this? “I- I’m _Lance._ You know- your rival?! The guy you competed with in high school? The one you race against? Neck n’ neck for the finish line? I just don’t get it; how can you forget something so big?!”

The other boy frowned. He didn’t look as upset as he did before, but he still looked slightly confused. “So you’re that guy? The one who races blue-?”

_“Yes!”_ Lance shouted, relieved he was finally starting to understand what Lance had been trying to tell him. It had taken him long enough.

And _then-_ “Are you sure? I don’t really remember seeing you in that car…” Keith didn’t believe him. How could he have not seen him in the car? It was a mystery to Lance.

He stumbled up from his bed, pointing at Keith. “I’ll _show_ you.” If that was the only way to make this stubborn mullet-head believe him… Lance was tired of arguing. He reached for his keys on his desk, and once he had them in his grasp, he stalked towards the door. But Keith’s voice stopped him.

“Are you sure you don’t want to put some clothes on first?”

“What-?” Then Lance looked down, and finally realized that he was only wearing his boxers. His cute boxers, too. The ones with the little blue aliens on them. Cute or not, though, he was half naked in front of his new roommate.

Lance felt his face heat up and he quickly turned around to pull on something other than just underwear. He grabbed the nearest pair of jeans and shoved his legs through them, pulling them up. Then he slipped on some sandals, and motioned Keith to follow him out the door. Fuck shirts. Who needs shirts?

Well, it figured that Lance would need a shirt because it was in the middle of September. Autumn was just starting to make itself known, and it was evident in the parking lot when he and Keith exited the dormitory. The light chill in the air made little goose-bumps rise on Lance’s arm, but he took no notice of them, instead trying to locate his car. He was determined to show Keith what was what.

It didn’t take too long to find Lance’s car. The two approached it, Lance with a bounce in his step and a smirk on his face. He gestured widely to the car, looking at Keith. “And I present Blue for all your validating needs~” He said in a smooth voice. Or what he thought was a smooth voice. Apparently Keith wasn’t all that impressed. He was walking around the car, and it took Lance a second to realize that he was verifying the license plate. He nodded once he saw it: ‘AZUL’. Lance had originally wanted ’3A7DUS7’ for the license plate, but his pit crew had convinced him that was too cheesy. Azul sounded more appropriate. A little obvious in Lance’s opinion- it was obvious that the car was blue- who needed a word in Spanish to understand that?

“Yeah, that’s definitely Blue…” Keith murmured. And he was damn right about that. See? So obvious. Even Mullet could get it.

“Lance grinned victoriously. “See? See- I told you! And you didn’t believe me!”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Shut upppp,” he drew out. He looked at Lance’s car again, and then took a step forward. He tugged lightly on the passenger door handle. It wouldn’t budge, because Lance hadn’t unlocked it yet. “...Let’s go for a ride?” Keith proposed hesitantly, glancing over at Lance.

Lance paused at that, watching Keith carefully. This was practically his _enemy_ right here. They were rivals! And yet… the urge to show off…

“Sure, why not,” Lance conceded with a smile. He unlocked the car, and Keith slipped into the passenger seat. Lance moved around the front of the car to get into the driver’s side. In one smooth movement, he was also putting his keys in to start the car. Blue purred to life, making Lance smile. He loved that sound. “So where do you want to go?”

“...Huh?” Lance looked over to find that Keith had been distracted checking out his car. He had adjusted in his seat to get a glimpse at the back of the car. Lance almost wished he had had time to clean up before Keith got in there, because the back was littered with old fast food bags and receipts.

“I said,” Lance repeated, and Keith looked over to him. “Where do you want to go?”

“Oh.” The other leaned back in his seat, pulling on his seat belt. He shrugged a little. “Just around? Unless you wanted to go somewhere in particular?”

Lance honestly wouldn’t mind a trip to McDonald’s, but he thought treating his rival to a shitty breakfast was probably too forward… and okay, McDonald's is great, but Lance is broke. He had college to thank for that.

So Lance settled for pulling out of the parking space instead, and racing onto the road. Keith didn’t seem to mind the speed, and Lance was definitely speeding, so that was probably a good thing.

“I like your car,” Keith started, making Lance glance over at him. “It’s got a nice design. I’ve never actually been in another racer’s car before.”

Lance smiled a bit at the compliment, but tried to play it cool. Be smooth, Lance. Be smooth. He leaned back, putting an arm to the side and driving with one hand. “I know, right? I’ve put a lot of time in to make her absolutely _perfect.”_

“Perfect? Well, I wouldn’t say that. But it’s pretty nice.” That asshole, low-key insulting Lance’s car…

“You know, I still can’t believe you don’t remember me. We were rivals in class, too! Not just gym!” Lance felt offended that he didn’t remember him. Lance had taken their rivalry so seriously. He had even talked to Keith a few times, bragging when he would win. He remembered loving that annoyed look he would give him sometimes. Though, Keith usually had stayed away from Lance for the most part. And then he dropped out.

“Lance, I don’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday. You think I remember high school? Some stupid class? That was years ago.”

“Years ago- but still relevant! You must remember seeing me get in my car, at least. How about racing beside you?”

“Nooope,” Keith drew out.

Lance groaned, frowning a little at him. Keith actually sighed, frowning guiltily. At least he felt bad. “Look, sorry… was I important to you or something? Or were you important to me?”

Lance tensed up a little at that terminology. Important to him? Keith made it sound like… he made it sound gay, honestly. “No- no not like that-” Lance waved a hand, as if it would get rid of the notion. “That’s- you know- we were just _rivals_ and it uh meant a bit to me… no homo.” He added the last bit for good measure. Not that he was against gay people or anything- he just didn’t feel that way and had to make sure his new roommate understood that.

Though, Keith was staring at him with a scowl. “Right,” he replied stiffly. “Well. Sorry. I don’t remember you. Maybe it’ll come back later or something.”

“I hope so. Forgetting _me_ is just unforgivable.”

Keith didn’t say anything, just slumped down a little in his seat. Lance was driving aimlessly in the neighborhood outside the campus, and as the silence dragged on, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. It was too quiet. Too much time to think about everything they just talked about.

He leaned forward to turn on the radio, and turned it up to a loud volume. Keith glanced over at the sudden noise, and sat up a little. After another minute or two, he rolled down his window. Cold gusts of wind rushes in, ruffling their hair and clothes. More so Keith’s hair, however. He had more hair to be tousled. The faster Lance went, he noticed, the more Keith’s hair flew around.

By the looks of it, though, Keith really liked it. He had put his arm on the window, and leaned his head against it. His eyes were closed, and when he smiled a little, Lance felt the earlier tension melt away.  
However, he involuntarily shivered at the cold that had suddenly filled the car. “Geez, it’s freezing.”

Keith opened his eyes to look over at him. “I mean. You don’t have a shirt on. And actually…” He glances down, and it takes Lance a second to realize where he’s looking. “I think your fly’s down.”

“W-what?” He glanced down and yep those are his boxers showing. “Oh shit-” He used one hand to pull up his pants zipper, while trying to focus on the road as well. He must have been in such a rush to get out of the dorms, he forgot to zip up his pants… He shivers again, and his face felt hot. Keith just snorted, and rolled up his window. His hair was still going in several different directions.

“Sorry about the cold, though. I’d give you my jacket, but.” Keith shrugged.

“...Why not? I’d wear it.” Anything to get rid of the goose-bumps. He’d even wear Keith’s leather jacket. It must have been really warm, especially since Keith was already wearing it.

Keith paused, staring over at him, like he was debating. Then he started shrugging off his jacket. “If you ruin it in any way, I’ll run you over with my car.” Lance grinned at the threat, and took Keith’s jacket when they stopped at a red light. He carefully pulled it on, and sighed at the warmth that came off of it. It smelled like Keith, too, he noticed. Which… surprisingly, wasn’t a bad thing. Maybe he _did_ shower, despite his terrible hair.

“Thanks, man,” Lance said when he started driving again.

“No problem. Thanks for driving me around. This isn’t bad.” It honestly wasn’t. Lance found himself enjoying the ride, now. Even though they weren’t going anywhere in particular.

“No problem…” He grins over at him. “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, right?”

Keith rolled his eyes, smiling a bit. “Whatever, Lance. I still won’t go easy on you. Never have, never will.”

“Oh, that’s fine. I want to kick your ass at full potential!”

“You’ll be waiting a while, if kicking my ass is your goal. So you might as well sit back for a while.” Keith looked at him with a raised eyebrow, challenging.

“Nope, no can do. Can’t let my guard down.” Lance squared his shoulders as he drove.

“If you let your guard down as often as you let your fly down, I'll probably get lucky very quickly.” Now _that_ made Lance look at him weird. What was that supposed to mean?

“Dude… that was kind of gay.”

Keith groaned at Lance’s reply, crossing his arms. “Dude. You’re so dirty, shut up. You know I didn’t mean it like that.”

Okay, yeah. Maybe Keith wasn’t low-key hitting on him. Lance relaxed again, shrugging. He looked back to the road, and realized he had been driving in a square. They were on their way back to the dormitory. Lance fell quiet for a moment, and actually focused on the new music that had been playing. Static had started making an interference, making the music literally the shittiest quality that Lance had heard in a long time.

“Want me to change it?” Keith asked. He must have noticed Lance’s look of distaste. “I can put on some of my music.”

“Um, yeah, sure. Go ahead.” Lance fumbled around for the aux cord, handing it over once he found it. Keith gratefully took it, and hooked it up to his phone. Lance turned his eyes back to the road as Keith took a moment to turn on his own music.

 

_“Now I know that I can’t make you stay,_  
_But where’s your heart?_  
_But where’s your heart?_  
_But where’s your…_  
_And I know-”_

 

Lance looked over at Keith with a look of utter disgust written across his features. “My Chemical Romance? Seriously?” Get this emo child out of his car.

Keith raises his hands up defensively. “What?! They’re good! It’s better than what was on before!”

“Okay, _better_ does not mean _good._ I haven’t heard this song since I was thirteen, Keith. Thirteen!” Lance shook his head. This was absolutely disgraceful.

“Well,” Keith began. “Not their fault your taste went to shit.”

Lance scoffs, offended for both himself and his favorite artists. “ExcUSE ME! I brought you into my car- and you disrespect me and my music-”

Keith laughs at his indirect meme. “But you insulted my favorite band!”

“Need I remind you whose car we’re in? It’s mine. I can totally roast!” Lance said, making Keith laugh again. Lance couldn’t help the smile that came to his face, and he shook his head as he drove. They were on their way back to the dormitory. Keith changed his music to a less emo song, which Lance appreciated. Soon, they were pulling into the parking lot. Lance hopped out of the car once it was off, and slipped his hands into the pockets of Keith’s jacket. He was glad he had stolen it, otherwise, he would be freezing his ass off.

Keith got out of the car as well, and Lance locked it. Then they headed back into the dormitory together. Lance noticed even Keith looked a little cold now, without his jacket. Well, at least he had a shirt. It was his fault in the first place that Lance didn’t have one.

In their dorm, Lance flopped down on his bed. He looked over at his clock, and his eyes widened. How had he not noticed the time. “Dude. Why the fuck did you wake me up so early? It’s only 6:15!” And they had just gone for a half an hour drive. Why was Keith bustling about at such an ungodly hour?

“Hey- I told you that you could go back to sleep.” Keith shrugs, walking over to his things. He still hadn’t unpacked. He hadn’t had time to, after all. “I’ve been up since 3.”

_“Why-?”_

“Some loud kids. Look, just go back to sleep. I’ll try to be quiet this time.” It looked like he was planning on unpacking. Lance sighed a little. Keith was really… something. He wasn’t as bad as he thought, but he was… something.

He pulled his blankets over himself, and turned on his side lamp. Keith went and turned off the main lights, to depend on the lamp light. Lance thanked him, and turned onto his side. He listened to the sounds of Keith moving around as he fell back asleep. He had a few new things on his mind as he drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said before, pls do not judge me too harshly. Maybe they'll get better as we go along, who knows? And yes. Lance dropped the line. The stereotypical line.  
> Aaaand you can find me at my tumblr, which is the same as my username here, if you have any comments or suggestions you don't wanna put here. Ty if you took the time to read this mess


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That unfortunate moment when you remember your rival's pit crew, and not your actual rival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ty to anyone who took the time to even open this! Honestly. Ty. And ty vodka-bot again because this chapter needed some real help.  
> Also! I'm not really sure how consistent these updates are going to be. But there will probably be at least one a week. This update is a bit shorter than the first chapter, as well, and is in Keith's POV. Also, I use they/them pronouns for Pidge here.  
> And for the texting, the italicized text is Keith, and the underlined italicized text is Shiro. (Unintentionally, it kind of looks like 'call me, beep me's format. Whoops).

Keith didn’t have many belongings to put away, so it wasn’t a long process. He made his new bed in sheets and blankets, the color scheme being red and black. He had three blankets total. He had made absolute _certain_ that he was not going to freeze while he was here.

After he had set his blankets up, and placed his few little knick-knacks on his side desk, he plopped down on the nearby bed. He winced a little at the sound of the springs protesting under his weight. Then his eyes traced over the room, as he leaned back on his hands. Lance had pretty much taken over the room with all of his stuff, but Keith thought it made it look pretty homey. There were posters along the walls; they were of cars, space, pop artists, and a few seemingly random things, like the ocean. Lance was pretty disorganized, by the looks of it. He had books and papers stacked in different places, and they were practically flowing off of his desk.

As he slowly took it all in, his eyes landed on Lance. He blinked at the sight. Lance had curled up in his blankets, and he resembled… a cocoon. No, maybe a taco? And then Keith became enlightened.  

_He looks like a burrito. A Lancerito._

He snorted at the thought, covering his mouth with his hand as he smiled. He couldn’t help but think it was kind of cute how Lance had curled up like that, but he also wondered how he managed to get himself bundled up that way.

He must have been really tired. A look at Lance’s clock confirmed that it was close to 7… Keith guessed he could fall asleep again. He didn’t have any classes today, anyway. And he hadn’t actually _meant_ to wake up at 3 in the morning. Keith was by no means a morning person. He had just been so anxious about today… he hadn’t even needed coffee this morning to keep himself up, and that's saying something. He had just been so eager to get out, into a place where he could sort of call his own. Well, his and his roommate’s.

Keith sighed as he laid back. He pulled all of his heavy blankets over himself, still fully dressed, and passed out within a few minutes.

It felt like he had been asleep for three minutes before a loud beeping filled the room. He groaned, pulling his blankets over his head. The sound was barely muffled. And it kept on going. What was that?

He peeked over the edge of his blanket, eyeing the source. It was Lance’s alarm clock, and it only seemed to be getting louder? Lance was only just starting to stir, and he flung his arm over to try and stop the annoying beeping. In another few seconds of Lance trying to find the correct button, the room was blissfully silent again.

“Thank god…” He mumbled, pulling the nearest pillow close so that he could hug it.

Lance looked over at him, startled for a second. He still looked half asleep, though. “Oh…”

“...What?” What did the ‘oh’ mean?

“I totally forgot you were still here.”

“Thanks,” Keith deadpanned, rolling his eyes. Though, he guessed he had only been there a couple hours. And Lance had been asleep for the majority of it.

“Come on, dude. I just passed out for, like, twenty years. Give me a break.” He waved a hand, and then sat up with a yawn. Keith blinked once the blankets fell away. Lance was still wearing his jacket?

“You sleep like the dead,” Keith commented. How could he have slept through that alarm for so long? Was this an everyday thing?

“Mm, I know,” the other replied. “I’ve missed quite a few classes because of that.”

He shakes his head. “You could miss a fire alarm because of that.”

“...Haha, actually-” Keith raised his eyebrows. “My parents decided to do a mini fire drill in our house once. I was the only one that was still in there when it was over. I think I had headphones in? And I was sleeping.” Keith gaped at him.

“What? That’s terrible- what a terrible fire drill.”

“Well it’s okay! It was just a drill. Now they just know that they have to come in and get me. My dad would probably carry me out anyway… would you carry me out, Keith?” Lance mused, smirking at him a little.

He shrugged, and sat up a bit. “Maybe.” He was a little bitter about being woken up from his sleep. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep again until later.

Lance quickly sat up, looking at him incredulously. “You’d leave me to _burn?!”_ He shook his head, looking over with mock hurt. Keith just rolled his eyes. He was so dramatic.

“I was kidding, Lance.”

“Hmph. Rude.” He snivelled, getting up out of his bed. He shrugged off Keith’s jacket, walking over to a dresser he had set up. Finally, the jacket-stealer released his coat. Keith sat up, watching as Lance looked through a couple of shirts, evidently trying to decide what to wear. He had brought a lot of clothes to the dormitory with him…

“Do you have a class soon or something?” Keith asked, wondering why Lance had an alarm on in the first place.

The other looked over, blinking a little. He shook his head. “Oh, no.” He spoke as he pulled his shirt over his head. “I’m just going to hang out with Hunk today.”

He tilted his head to the side a little, curious. “Who’s Hunk?” He wondered for a second if maybe he was prying too much, then decided he didn’t care. This Lance guy knew more about Keith then he actually wanted him to. Keith thought he deserved some answers, too.

Lance waved a dismissive hand, going to pull on some proper shoes. “Best friend- neighbor- oh my god!” He suddenly straightened up, looking excited. _Oh boy, here we go._ “You haven’t met Hunk yet! Or Pidge!”

“Am I supposed to know who these people are?” They did sound familiar, though, which was strange. Keith had _the most_ ridiculous memory. It seemed very selective about who to remember and who to give the Blank Stare of Confusion. “Are they our neighbors?”

“Yes! We have to go talk to them!” Lance was so excited, it was almost contagious. Keith had to keep the small smile off of his face, and instead focus on pulling on his shoes. Lance looked like he was about to drag him out of there, whether he was dressed or not. _These must be some pretty cool people. Or maybe Lance is just being Lance._ From what he knew about Lance already, Lance was probably just being Lance.

Keith stood up, and grabbed his jacket from off of Lance’s bed. He checked it to make sure it wasn’t ruined before he slipped it on. Lance was zipping up a blue hoodie, which honestly, really brought out his eyes. Keith was peeved to find himself having trouble not looking at his eyes to get a better look at the color. They were a dark blue, seemingly brighter because of the cobalt jacket he had slipped on.

“C’mon, let’s go!” Lance exclaimed, and after he grabbed his keys, he nudged him towards the door. Keith took the hint, and walked out the door, Lance close behind him. Then he led the short way down the hall, to the next dorm door.

Lance rapped out a beat loudly on the door, and sat back on his heels as he waited for someone to get the door. There was a shuffling sound from inside, and some muffled voices. Then, the door finally opened.

Keith assessed the person at the door, a weird sense of deja-vu rising up as he narrowed his eyes. Where had he seen this guy before? His skin was a dark mocha, his hair held back by a headband. He was stocky, and muscular, and a bit taller than both Lance and Keith. His face was soft, and when he caught sight of Lance, it lit up with a bright smile.

“Lance! Hey, Pidge- Lance is here. And, um…” He trailed off when he saw Keith. He knit his eyebrows together.

“Lance’s roommate,” Keith filled in for him.

“And Lance’s roommate!” The guy- Hunk, Keith could only assume- finished.

Keith heard something move inside the room, and suddenly a smaller figure appeared in the doorway. They were literally a _foot_ smaller than Hunk, and much more petite. Keith blinked at the sight. They were two completely different figures- but both so familiar to him, for reasons unknown to him. This new person, Pidge, peered up at him from behind large, round glasses. If Keith thought his hair was wild before, he thought different when he saw Pidge’s hair. The light brown locks curled in directions that Keith didn’t think hair could naturally curl. They looked friendly enough, but they had a guarded look in their eyes.

They pushed up their glasses when they saw Keith, blinking at him. “Ohhh huh,” they said simply. He got the impression that they knew something, they had this knowing look on their face...

Lance suddenly wrapped an arm around Keith’s shoulders, pulling him against him. He looked over at him, startled. That was way too close for comfort all of the sudden. But Lance looked enthused. “Guys- you won’t _guess_ who this is!”

“Oh really?” Pidge said, and he thought he heard a sarcastic lilt to their voice. Oh yeah, they definitely knew something.

However, Hunk seemed oblivious. “Who is he? I thought he was your roommate.”

“Well, he is,” Lance conceded. “ _But_ he’s also Keith! You know- my rival Keith!” He looked so proud of himself with that revelation, Keith almost wanted to laugh.

Hunk looked impressed, however. Pidge was at least feigning a surprised look; however, they really weren’t doing a great job at it. “Wow,” they deadpanned.

“Huh, seriously? Actually, now that I think about it, I do recognize you, Keith! From a few races. And we’ve talked to your buddy a few times. What was his name…?” Hunk frowned a bit as he thought. “Shiro?”

Keith blinked in surprise. They knew about Shiro? No wonder he had felt like he recognized the two. He had seen them at some races. That still didn’t explain how he had forgotten Lance, but remembered his pit crew. “Yeah, yeah. His name’s Shiro. He’s a really good friend of mine. Actually, I think I might remember him mentioning you two-”

“Wait-” Lance interjected. He looked over to see his royal blue eyes wide with shock. “Wait… you’re friends with _Shiro?_ Like- _the_ Shiro?” He asked Keith.

Keith raised an eyebrow skeptically. _The_ Shiro? Then he understood. It had almost slipped his mind that Shiro had been a major professional racer. He just didn’t think of him as a celebrity, anymore, as much as he thought of him as a friend. Shiro had been a huge deal, until… the accident happened. He had to fight a grimace off of his face at the thought. “Uh, yeah. He’s kind of my mentor of sorts.”

“And he helps with his car,” Pidge added. “He’s a pretty cool guy, actually. I love his hair.”

“Ooh, me too. The streak in the front is so cool,” Hunk agreed, nodding. “What do you guys think? Should I get a blond streak in my hair? Right in the front?”

The smaller of the two laughed a little, nodding. “Hell yes. If you get a blond one, I’ll get a green one.”

“Oh man yes! Let’s do it!” Hunk said, making Keith smile a bit. These two seemed nice. A little dorky, but nice.

Meanwhile, he remembered Lance standing flabbergasted at his side. “I can’t believe no one ever… no one ever told me! _Shiro!”_ He repeated his name, like he didn’t believe it.

Is Shiro Lance’s idol? He guessed he could see where Lance would be coming from. Keith looked up to Shiro, too. But… not to this extent. The way Lance seemed to revere Shiro was almost too gay, and he would assume it was if Lance hadn’t already dropped the “no homo” line.

“Do you want an autograph?” Keith proposed with a small smirk.

“Who? Shiro’s?” Lance was trying to play dumb as he fumbled for an answer. It was kind of obvious he wanted one, though.

“I can get you one,” he said, watching the flicker of hope on Lance’s face with slight amusement. It was almost cute how much he liked Shiro.

Pidge snorted, and Keith’s eyes were drawn back to them. “Ha- so could I! Or Hunk. He’s always there, you know?”

“Yeah, Lance,” Hunk agreed. “I really don’t know how you missed him.”

Lance threw up his hands, looking annoyed. “What? Well- it’s not like I _stare_ at other guys when I’m racing! I had no idea!” He exclaimed. Keith rolled his eyes a little at that. _Of course he doesn’t look at other guys when he’s driving, he’s Too Straight for that._

“I think he was literally ten feet from your car once,” Pidge added helpfully.

Lance gaped at them. Then, he straightened up, and looked to Keith. “Change of plans! Sorry, Hunk, we’re hanging out with Shiro. Lead the way, Keith!”

“I- what?” He asked, taken aback. “Dude, he might be busy. I know it might seem hard to believe, but he does have a life that does not revolve around making time to give you autographs.”

“Buuuuut,” Lance drew out, looking hopeful. “What if he isn’t busy?”

“Then it would be rude to expect him to do something with us when we didn’t plan it.” Keith shrugged. He didn’t want to bother Shiro with no warning.

He almost wished he had, though, when he saw Lance’s dejected look. He practically deflated like a balloon. He immediately felt bad about depriving him of time with Shiro.

“Okay- okay, fine,” Keith agreed, pushing hair out of his face. “I’ll see what I can do.” He was then startled as the other let out an excited noise, grinning.

“Yessss!”

Keith heard him talking lowly with the other two when he backed away a bit down the hallway. He slipped his phone out of his pocket, looking through his recent contacts for Shiro.

 

_8:27: Hey, Shiro. Are you busy today?_

_ 8:28: why?  _

_8:28: That wasn’t an answer._

_8:28: A couple college friends want to meet you. It would be totally fine if you said no._

_ 8:29: haha why would i say no? i’m glad you’re already making friends! who are they?  _

_8:29: Just my roommate and his friends. Blue’s driver is one of them._

_ 8:30: o:  _

_ 8:30: really? that kind of works out. i made arrangements for us to practice at this new arena. maybe you could meet me there?  _

_ 8:30: your rival would probably like to see it. it technically hasn’t even opened yet.  _

_8:31: Why am I hearing about this just now?_

_ 8:31: ...  _

_ 8:31: are they interested?  _

_8:32: Yeah yeah, we’ll meet you there._

  
  
Keith got the address from Shiro before he finally walked back to the group. Lance looked happy as ever to hear that Shiro could meet them, and it made him glad he had asked. He felt an indescribable warmth when Lance smiled gratefully at him. Maybe his dramatic rival wasn’t so bad...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lancerito...  
> Ty again! This _should_ update soon because now it's the weekend.  
>  Thank you vodka-bot so much for helping with the html


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and friends visit the new Altea track, and Lance meets his idol, who he totally is not gay for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp I said this chapter might come early, and then it came late. It's been a long week, haha. Anyway, hope you enjoy.

Lance was thrilled when Keith walked back over and told them all that they would be meeting Shiro. He was so excited, he barely heard what he said afterwards. Something about an Altea Track? He didn’t care, Shiro was going to be there. That was what really mattered.

Well, he was thrilled, until the seating arrangements were announced.

“I call riding with Keith,” Pidge announced.

Hunk gaped at them a little, then pouted as he crossed his arms. “Whaaat? That’s not fair, dude.” Wait, Hunk wanted to ride with Keith, too? What was the world coming to? Those little traitors.

Keith seemed to realize too, much to his displeasure. “Wow, Lance. Your entire pit crew wants in my car.” He smirked over at him, a little quirk of his mouth.

Lance scoffed, pushing Hunk, who happened to be closer to him than Pidge was. They probably did that on purpose. They thought ahead like that. “I can’t believe you two! What happened to sticking together! Stop fraternizing with the enemy!” He may or may _not_ know what the word ‘fraternize’ meant. But he had heard it plenty of times, and no one seemed to comment, so he _assumed_ he used it properly.

“Intelligence, Lance. Intel.” The shortest of their group waved a dismissive hand, smiling a little to theirself.

“It’s not much different from you letting me ride in your car, Lance,” Keith pointed out. Right. He had literally let his enemy ride in his car earlier. But- that wasn’t the same. It was just Keith riding with him.

“I- I know, but that was different.”

“How? We’re just hanging out.” Keith raised an eyebrow.

“It’s different because…” He couldn’t really _voice_ why it was different. It just was! “It was in my car. And for a good reason!” Well, Lance didn’t actually have to take Keith for a ride. He would admit that. But he had asked, and it was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing.

“Right, I think I see what you mean now.” Keith nodded. “It was different because my car is _better_ than yours. Come on, let’s go, Pidge.” As he turned away, Lance could have sworn he caught a smug little look on his face, a glimmer in his eyes. That Mullet just insulted his car.

As he sputtered for a retort, Pidge snickered, and disappeared back into their dorm. Hunk placed a gentle hand on Lance’s shoulder, stopping Lance from saying whatever he was about to say. Which was probably going to be something along the lines of ‘ _My car is the bestest, asshole.’_

Momentarily, Pidge was out of their dorm, slipping a backpack onto their shoulders. It probably just had their laptop. They couldn’t go anywhere without it, could they?

Lance watched Keith and Pidge begin to walk down the hall, speaking to each other with smiles. Pidge was speaking rapidly, by the looks of it.

“Well…” Hunk began, and he looked over at his taller companion. “I like your car! It’s great! And I work on it, so it must be awesome,” he said brightly.

He smiled a bit at him. At least Hunk cared about him. He loved Hunk. “That’s true. Anything you and Pidge work on is a masterpiece. Keith can suck it.” He squared his shoulders, ceasing his pouting. He began walking after Keith and Pidge, who were nearing the exit of the building. Hunk followed along beside him.

Lance found himself looking ahead at them idly as he walked. Keith had a nice stride… and he would have to ask him where he got those jeans- they fit him so nicely-

“Would you really be upset if I rode with Keith on the way back?” Hunk asked. He kept his eyes forward, but shrugged a little as they walked outside.

“I guess, if you really _want_ to, you could ride with him,” Lance relented. He wouldn’t stop his friend from doing something he wanted. That would just be a dick move.

“Aw thanks, Lance!” Hunk smiles at him, nudging him with his arm. “You’re the best.”

As they passed Keith’s car in the parking lot, Hunk didn’t even try to hide his ogling. He was staring so much as the crimson car that he almost ran into another one. Lance couldn’t help but laugh a little at him, and he rubbed the back of his neck in a bashful manner. “It just looks sooo cool. I really want to get a look at the engine. It must be so powerful, the way it can just pull ahead of everything the way it does…” He sighed.

He rolled his eyes. Hunk was a total nerd. Sometimes, he wondered why he followed his culinary interest instead of his engineering one.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s great. Just don’t give him the satisfaction of staring at it like that.”

It wasn’t long before they reached Lance’s car, and the two of them got in. He turned on the engine, smiling at the thrum he felt under his fingers when he put his hands on the steering wheel. He took a moment to pull out, and he saw Keith’s car ahead of them. He was quick to follow after them, since Keith had instructed Lance to just follow him to the track they were meeting Shiro at.

“Can you turn on the radio?” He requested, and Hunk nodded. He reached over to turn up the volume.

“Oh, Lance? Can you do me a favor?”

“Hm?” Lance hummed.

“Put on your seatbelt.” He looked down and- yep. No seatbelt there. He cursed quietly, using a hand to grab and click the belt into place. “You’re hopeless,” Hunk sighed.

“Whaaat?” Lance drew out, glancing over and giving him an innocent look. “I’m a little forgetful sometimes, that’s all.” That was a serious understatement, and it was obvious both of them knew it.

“Lance, come on. I don’t want you to get hurt. And this _always_ happens! I always look over after a race and there you are- with no seat belt!” His large friend frowned at him, eyebrows knit together.

“I know, I know. I just don’t realize until it’s over. It’s just hard to remember sometimes, you know?” He sighed a little. Hunk was caring, but sometimes a little overbearing. It wasn’t Lance’s fault he always forgot his seatbelt…

“Hmph. You have to at least try a little harder, Lance? I’m going to start putting little reminders in your car, so you have no excuse for not wearing a seat belt!” Hunk declared. “They’ll be cute little notes on sticky notes. Riiiight on the steering wheel. Staring you in the face.”

“Suuure.” He nodded, and reached over to turn up the volume of the music blaring through Blue’s speakers. “Have fun remembering that.”

“I will, if it means keeping you safe.” Hunk huffed, but fell quiet when the music became louder. Just as Lance intended. What a better way to run away from your problems, than to blare music? It worked just fine, here.

He soon forgot about the safety issue, however, when they approached what Lance could only assume was the Altea Track. It was huge- a grand structure. It was a professional race track. He didn’t think he’d seen so many rows and rows of chairs and perch towers in his life…

Keith led them to the opening of the pristine track, and Lance reveled in the smooth feeling of riding on new road. He couldn’t feel a single bump.

They drove around the track, stopping in front of the pit stops, where a few people stood up. Lance felt his veins come alive, his body buzzing with excitement. Holy shit- one of those people was Shiro!

As soon as he parked, he turned off his car and hopped out quickly. He looked over at the people, who were walking closer, and- yep. Yes, that was Shiro. _The_ Shiro. Lance had to fight off a grin. _Be cool, Lance. It’s just your idol. A racing legend. Holy shit he’s so cool-_

He was distracted when he saw that Keith and Pidge were walking over to meet the new group, and Hunk walked with a very fidgety Lance to join them.

“Well, it’s good to see everyone made it here alright,” one of the new people began. Lance looked over, finally taking in someone other than Shiro. He blinked in surprise because… wow, she was beautiful. She had brilliant white hair, which stood in great contrast to her warm, dark skin. Her eyes were a clear aquamarine, and her smile friendly, but reserved.

“Yes! Welcome Keith, and friends!” Exclaimed the taller man next to her. Lance investigated him next, finding him to be an interesting character. He had bright ginger hair, and crinkly eyes. He had the most amazing mustache Lance has ever seen. It was glorious. Someone get this man an award.

And… then there was Shiro. He was as tall as Lance had imagined. Not that he had thought about their differences in height before. Or how dark his eyes were. And the graceful lines of his face- nope. He didn’t envision any of that to himself… but Shiro was still even more amazing than Lance had thought he was.

“Yes, welcome all of you. It’s nice to finally meet you, Lance,” Shiro said warmly, and he thought his head was going to explode. _Takashi Shirogane was talking to him- it was nice to meet him! Oh my god._

“Y-yeah, nice to meet you t-too!” Lance managed to stutter out, with what he hoped was a friendly smile. He saw Keith attempting to hide a grin to his right. His face burned once he realized Keith was laughing at him. He was nervous! Of course he’d stutter a little! That ass.

“Is this where some of the future races will take place? I hope so. This place makes the old track look like a dump,” Hunk said, looking around the track. Lance tore his eyes away from Shiro, to look around the area as well. It really was nice. Everything looked pristine, and new. The theme was blue and white, by the looks of it. He’d love to see this place filled with people during an actual race. He could just imagine the breathtaking view of all the seats filled, the deafening sound of a crowd, the thrill of being on the smooth roads.

“Oh, why thank you! Coran and I fixed this place up recently, as a tribute. We run this place ourselves, and we’ll make sure to take very good care of it,” began one of their hosts, the beautiful one. He looked over as she introduced herself. “I am Allura, and it will be a pleasure to see you all here in the future.” She flashed a smile, and wow she even had pretty teeth, too. And a British accent… she just gets better and better.

“Good thing you’ll be taking care of such a nice track- the maintenance crew of the old track was shi- bad. They were bad. They always let the road ice over.” Pidge shook their head, pushing up their glasses.

Lance laughed a little. “Just say it, Pidge. They did a shitty job.” He didn’t miss the way Allura’s eyebrows raised, but the friendly man to her left let out a laugh. Coran? Yeah, Coran.

“Well no worries! We’ll make sure this track stays nice and… raceable,” Coran ended eloquently, making him smile.

“We’re glad to hear it,” Keith said. Apparently he had gotten over Lance’s stuttering. He hoped they could all just… forget about that. What stuttering? Lance didn’t stutter. “It’s a real honor to race here, honestly. And practice… would you mind if we take a spin around the track?” He asked, a bit tentatively.

“Of course!” Coran smiled, as did Allura at his side. “It’s all ready to go! Go ahead. Just be _careful,_ we know you don’t have any gear with you.”

He smiled, and as he noticed Keith heading to his car, he ran to go to his own, as well. The others went to go stand in the safer infield area of the track.

Lance was smiling as he slipped back into his car. Keith was already pulling ahead to the starting line, where he stopped. Ohhh, so this was going to be a race. He grinned as he started up, and went to go pull up beside Keith. When he looked over, and saw the other looking at him, he smirked at him. Keith just rolled his eyes, but he could have sworn he caught a smile playing at his lips.

Shiro ran over to the side of the track, positioning himself so that they both could see him. Then he raised his arm, counting down. Lance could see his lips moving, forming the words, and then he swung his arm down.

His foot pushed on the gas, and he grinned as Blue smoothly jumped forward. Keith had done the same beside him, and now he got a good look at his car as they took off, side by side. Usually he was surrounded by other cars, and only got to see Keith at the end of the race. But now, it was just the two of them. It was a satisfying feeling. Just him and his rival and the road.

He loved the smooth feeling of the track underneath Blue’s tires, and the way he could _feel_ how fast he was going. The fence zipped by alongside him, and the pavement all blurred together in a gray puddle. It was exhilarating going so fast.

And yet, despite how fast he was going, Keith was pulling ahead? Lance watched him as they turned, and yes, Keith’s car was inching forward at a steadily increasing pace. He felt a surge inside himself, and he slammed his foot down on the gas. He felt Blue lurch forward to race next to Keith.

As they raced for the finish line, they pulled in front of each other multiple times. They each had to let up on their gas a few times. However, once that one place approached… caution was thrown to the wind.

Lance’s ankle was aching when he slammed on the gas again, and it seemed Keith was doing the same. Closer, closer, closer- Lance was so close!

He was watching Keith as they crossed the line, his eyes widening once he realized that he hadn’t been quick enough to pull in front of his rival. Fuck! Unless his eyes were mistaken, they had crossed at the same time! He didn’t win!

They slowly came to a stop, and Lance was out in seconds, running his hands through his hair and cursing in quick Spanish. He couldn’t believe he had lost again! After all his hard work, and no one else on the track, he still hadn’t beaten his rival. _But,_ he realized, slowly looking over to Keith. _He hadn’t won either…_

That made things a little better. And the upset little frown on Keith’s face definitely made up for the tie. Lance strode over to him, leaning on the side of the slick crimson car. He looked over at Keith with a smirk, and he scowled.

“What are you smirking about?” He asked, voice tense. “You didn’t win, you know?”

“Oh yeah, I know.” Keith raised an eyebrow, probably wondering why Lance looked so smug. Then he got his answer, and his eyes narrowed. “But neither did you.”

“Maybe I didn’t win this time. But neither did you, so there’s no reason to look so fucking proud.” The other boy pushed some hair out of his face, straightening up. Someone was salty.

“Well maybe it isn’t a win to _you,_ but it’s definitely a score in my eyes.”

“Hah, no.” Keith scoffed. “A win is when I pull ahead of you, and get to the finish line first. You’ve seen it plenty of times.” Rude.

“Well, I’ve made progress,” Lance tried to defend.

“Not enough, apparently.” Keith flicked him teasingly, and he would have replied if Shiro didn’t walk over. Lance automatically put on a more friendly countenance, and Shiro smiled back brightly. Oh no he was cute.

“Good race, guys! I can tell you’re doing better, Lance. Keith had better watch his back next race,” Shiro admonished, making Lance smirk. Keith’s face was turning red as he glared at Shiro. Yeah, that’s right. Lance made _progress_ and he was going to _kick Keith’s ass_ next race. The asshole deserved it.

“But,” Shiro began, making him turn back to him. “Lance, you should be more careful. Pidge and Hunk said you car got a bit stressed when you pushed it like that.” He blinked, glancing back at his own car, where Hunk and Pidge were looking at the engine. Oops. He guessed he had gone a little faster than usual…

“Oh,” he mumbled simply, his bravado fading a bit.

“Yeah.” Shiro nodded. “Your car has excellent endurance, but it isn’t supposed to go as fast as Keith’s. Though, it’s important to keep in mind that his doesn’t have as much stamina… hah, anyway. Good job, again.” He smiled at them both, and turned, walking back over to where Allura and Coran were waiting.

Lance watched him go, and let out a little sigh. “Hm… he’s so cool.”

Keith snorted at his side, and he looked over at him with a frown. “He’s just a normal guy. A legend, sure. But a normal guy… it was so great when you started stuttering, pfft. You don’t have to be so nervous around him” Lance’s mouth opened a little, and he felt his face heating up.

“I- I didn’t stutter. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He crossed his arms, deciding the best course of action was to play coy.

“Yeah, you did.”

“...Did not.”

“You’re totally lying.” Keith leaned against the car as well, waving a hand. “I can tell he’s your idol or something. Just in that look you give him.”

“Well, of course I look up to him! The guy’s a legend! You said so yourself!” What look was he giving Shiro? He wasn’t giving Shiro a look… was he? Oh god, what if Shiro noticed he was giving him a look?

Keith shrugged nonchalantly, continuing. “Yeah, but you had this look. _And_ you were stuttering. You looked like some love-struck anime schoolgirl.” He smiled a little, and Lance felt his insides churn.

“But it’s normal to accidentally look at people you look up to in a different way- and besides… I’m not interested in guys.” He was definitely not interested in Shiro like that. That was gay and Lance was not _gay._ He just really liked Shiro- in the most platonic way possible. Yeah. Keith was full of shit.

“Oh really? That performance could have proven otherwise.” He had this shit-eating grin on his face, and Lance narrowed his eyes at him.

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean?!”

“It meeeeans,” Keith drew out. “That it was kind of gay-looking.”

Once the words slipped out of his mouth, Lance blanched. He shook his head, sitting up, getting off of Keith’s car. “I- no- n-no I’m not gay- I just was admiring him- I mean I-I admire him-”

“You’re stuttering again.”

“No I’m not!” Lance shouted, feeling his anger raise its ugly head again. He pushed away from Keith’s car, taking long strides back to his own. “I’m _leaving!_ And I’m getting McDonald’s! And _no one else can have any!”_ He barely paused as he opened his car door. “Except Hunk!” He added. Hunk hadn’t done anything wrong. He deserved some terrible fast food for his loyalty to Lance.

“And I’m nOT GAY!” He added, trying to ignore the way his voice almost cracked, and in moments, he was in his car, and driving down the track, and then out onto normal road. All the while, he couldn’t stop replaying their conversations in his head.

 

_‘I can tell he’s your idol or something. Just in that look you give him.’_

_‘You looked like some love-struck anime schoolgirl.’_

_‘It was kind of gay-looking.’_

 

He felt sick, and he had to fight down the feeling as it threatened to overtake him. Keith was wrong.

Lance wasn’t gay.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance isn't gay, obviously.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are attempted apologies and spy missions in the dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp this is kind of late. Sorry about that >.< I got into a slump these past two weeks, apparently. But I hope this one is alright and makes up for how delayed it was.  
> And again, ty so much to anyone who's been following along with this c:

He knew Lance was straight, but not _that_ straight. He watched his rival turn on his heel and stomp away, shouting something about McDonald’s before he hopped into his car and drove off. Keith was left by his car, wondering if he had gone too far. He didn’t think Lance would react that way. He was just kidding- both of them knew he wasn’t actually gay. But Lance got so defensive about it…

He was staring at the ground with a small frown, when he was startled out of his thoughts by a hand clapping down on his shoulder. He looked over to see Hunk’s dark eyes staring at him with concern. “Are you okay, Keith?”

“Don’t take Lance too seriously,” added Pidge. “He’s just so far in the closet, he’s one of the new princes of Narnia.” They snickered, and Keith raised his eyebrows. Lance didn’t seem to be in the closet at all. He seemed to be very blatant about how he had never even touched a closet in his life and obviously didn’t intend to.

After thanking Allura and Coran for letting them all use the track, Keith used his car to drive back to the dorm. Both Hunk and Pidge had to tag along, since Lance had stormed off. But they both sat in the back, and mumbled to each other on the way back. He could have sworn he felt them looking at him when he wasn’t watching. Were they talking about him? He didn’t think too much of it. He doubted any of it was offensive.

At the dorms, he noticed Lance still hadn’t returned yet; Blue was nowhere to be seen. Hunk and Pidge didn’t seem all that worried, though. They insisted that Keith go back to his room instead of waiting for Lance with them. And he was inclined to agree. Lance was probably _pretty_ upset with him.

In his dorm, he flopped down onto his bed, huffing at the sound of the springs crying out. He didn’t even pull his blankets over himself as he shifted, curling up a little on his side in the dark room. He pulled out his phone, noticing Shiro had been messaging him about Lance.

_10:52: hey, is he okay? :?_

_11:03: keith?_  
_11:15: Calm down, Shiro. I was driving._  
_11:15: He hasn’t come back, yet. Pidge and Hunk think he’ll be fine, though._ _  
11:15: I’m sure he’ll get over it._

_11:16: what did you even say to him?_ _  
_ _11:16: honestly, i leave for two seconds and you’re already fighting._

_11:16: though, should i really be surprised? I’m talking to the guy who punched a moody 13-year-old for telling him he was the embodiment of that thing from Horton Hears A Who. _

_11:17: First of all, that “thing” was named Jojo._ _  
_ _11:18: And I was SEVENTEEN._

 _11:18: I’ve changed, Shiro. I’m not as petty as I was back then._ _  
_ _11:19: well then what did you do?? _

_11:20: I was just teasing him. He took me more seriously than I thought he would._

_11:20: Before you say anything_

_11:20: apologize _

_11:20: I’m going to apologize_

_11:21: Seriously. You didn’t even let me finish._

_11:22: keithhh pleeeaaase. he seemed like a nice guy. and he’s your roommate. _

_11:23: I know._

_11:23: Like I said, I’ve got it, Shiro._

_11:24: good._

_11:25: he seems good for you _

 

As he was typing a reply, wondering what the _fuck_ that meant, the door was shoved open and hit the wall behind it with a loud noise. Keith jumped a little as he looked up to see a startled Lance, who was staring at the door incredulously. Then, he looked at Keith, expression turning sheepish.

 _“_ Haha, sorry. I didn’t really mean to do that.” He stepped in, and closed the door, gently, this time.

“It’s alright,” Keith said dismissively, relaxing again on his blankets. He watched Lance come in, putting his keys down. It seemed he really had gone to McDonald’s: he had a milkshake in his hand.

He was quiet, as was Lance, and an awkward silence fell upon them. It was broken when Lance said he was going to study, and sat down at his desk. But then it was back to silence, the sound of flipping papers the only one in the room.

Keith shifted uncomfortably in his bed, watching the other. He was never good with apologies. What was he even supposed to say?

_Sorry for calling you gay, I didn’t know it was a sensitive topic._

_I’m sorry you can’t take a little teasing._

_Sorry I ruined our little moment after the race._

Nothing… sounded right. He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he watched Lance. The student had earphones in, and was scribbling something down in a messy way on his desk. Wait. No, he wasn’t writing... He was drawing? There was no way those large strokes were making any letters.

He frowned a little, his thoughts on pause as he watched him. It briefly occurred to him that maybe staring at his roommate was a little creepy, but he pushed the intrusive thought back. Lance was doodling for a few minutes, before he suddenly decided to check in his desk drawer. He moved some things about in the drawer, before closing it again. He hadn’t even touched his textbook. It remained closed on the desk, and Lance stared at it now, like the knowledge would just magically pop into his head. _Oh if only that was how it worked._

Keith watched him for a moment longer, as Lance continued to distract himself instead of studying, before Keith sighed, and stood up. The other boy looked over at him, noticing the movement in his peripheral vision. He took out a headphone, and Keith could barely make out what sounded like Nicki Minaj from his earphones. “Where are you going?”

“On a walk. I need to find where all my classes are.” And escape from the suffocating silence.

He walked to the door, only to be stopped by Lance speaking again, hesitantly. “Can I come with you?” Keith turned to look at him. He didn’t think he had seen Lance look so unsure before…

“Um, yeah. Of course. I don’t know where I’m going anyway, heh.” He smiled a bit, and was relieved to see Lance return the gesture.

Lance stood up, grabbing his hoodie and pulling it on. And then, they were walking outside in the cool, crisp air. And, unfortunately, the silence followed them.

Keith looked down at the sidewalk, hands tucked in his jeans pockets. After a moment, he glanced over at Lance, hoping his bangs hid the fact that he was looking. Lance was staring ahead, his blue eyes scanning over the campus. Weirdly enough, it was empty. Probably because of how cold it was. Everyone else had enough common sense to stay inside, where it was warm.

Just thinking about the cold made Keith shiver violently. Lance looked over, and Keith quickly diverted his gaze to the sidewalk, his face heating up. _Fuck…. Smooth, Keith._

“Are you cold?”

“Huh?” He looked over at Lance, making it look intentional this time.

“I asked if you were cold,” Lance repeated, looking a little amused. “I can’t see how you wouldn’t be, in that jacket. I thought mid-drift leather jackets went out of style a long time ago, Mullet.”

Keith rolled his eyes, trying to fight the shiver that rose up again. “Well, I don’t… own many other jackets. So fuck off.” He dug his hands deeper into his pockets, hunching his shoulders. Why did he agree to let Lance walk with him, again?

“Oh… well, you can borrow mine, if you want. Just this once.” Keith looked over at him, thinking Lance was joking again. But… he looked completely serious. Keith paused, looking at his hoodie. It did look warm…

“Alright. Fine.” He said it begrudgingly, but in all honesty, he definitely wanted Lance’s hoodie now that he had thought about how warm it was.

The hoodie didn’t disappoint when Keith finally pulled it on, and he sighed in relief. It was a little big on him, but that just made it better. He looked over at Lance as he pulled on Keith’s jacket once again. It hugged him a bit more securely than it did Keith, he noticed. He blinked a little, in surprise, because… it didn’t look that bad on Lance.

“How do you even _deal_ with something this short?” Lance asked, tugging at the ends of the jacket. Keith laughed a little through his nose when the tugging did absolutely nothing in Lance’s favor.

“You get used to it…” He put his hands in the pockets of the hoodie, surprised it was so soft. Filled with a bunch of bullshit, but still soft. “...Thanks, Lance.”

The dark-haired boy nodded. “No problem…” When Keith looked over at him again, he was biting his lip, looking conflicted. It was soon evident why when he spoke again a few seconds later. “Um… sorry for running off like that. It was kind of immature of me to get so worked up like that, heh.”

Keith looked at him in surprise. Lance was apologizing first? He had beat him to it? He hadn’t expected that. Though, he guessed he was a bit more stubborn than Lance… “What? No- it’s fine. That was uncalled of, for me to tease you like that…” He sighed a little. “ _I’m_ the one that’s sorry, Lance. That really wasn’t right of me. I should have stopped once I realized you didn’t like it.”

Lance shrugged a little, smiling a bit. “Well, I agree. But I forgive you. We both kind of went overboard, I guess.”

Keith nodded in agreement. “So… we’re cool, then?”

“Yeah, we’re cool.” Lance smiled at him, and he felt the air lighten up. Thank god. He no longer felt like the entirety of the sky was pressing down on his shoulders. “So where’s your first class?”

“Oh- Astrology, I think.” After a moment of trying to recall, he nodded. Him and his shit memory.

Lance nodded. “Alright. That was actually back there.” He nodded his head to where they had already passed, and Keith followed him as he turned around and they began to walk back towards the dorms. Keith hadn’t realized how far they had walked in those moments. It took them a minute or two to get to a large building, which seemed to be their destination, because Lance walked them inside.

He sighed in relief at the warm air on his face. There didn’t seem to be anyone in this building, either…

“This is the science and math building. Most of the science classes are in the evening, so. No one is really here, I guess,” Lance explained. He had also probably noted the lack of people. He continued walking them down the hall, until they reached a door. Lance put a hand on it, leaning casually against the door. “And _this_ is your astrology class!” His attempt to look smooth was kind of amusing, and Keith raised a hand to hide his smile.

“Thanks… can we go inside?” He came closer, to try the door.

“No?” Lance looked at him like he was stupid, and Keith snorted. “There’s no teacher in the classroom!”

“But it’s unlocked,” Keith pointed out.

Lance paused, and got off the door. “...Really?” He nodded, and Lance watched him slowly open the door, revealing the dark room beyond. His blue eyes blinked, surprised.

“Wanna go in? Unless you’re too scared,” he teased. He smiled as Lance’s eyes lit up with the challenge.

“Of course not! We just have to be quiet. C’mon.” Lance led the way into the room, and Keith followed. He shut the door behind them, enveloping them in a thick darkness. “...Keith? Turn on the lights,” Lance whispered. He just pulled out his phone, turning on the flashlight app. The area in front of them was flooded with a bright white light.

“Nope. We have to be sneaky, remember? Someone could see the lights on from outside,” He pointed out. He could have sworn Lance made some sort of noise as he sidled up beside him, brushing against him.

“R-right… sneaky. We are sneaking right now. In an empty fucking classroom. Why are we in here, again? Maybe we should just leave.” Keith glanced over at him, eyebrow raised.

“Giving up so easily?” He asked, watching Lance’s dimly illuminated face contort into a slightly more determined expression, as one of his hands latched onto Keith’s arm.

“Of course not, Mullet.” He edged forward, and Keith followed, shining his light around the room. There were rows of lab tables, and the room was large, meant to hold many students. The lecture section of the room was to their left, and there were windows at the back of the room. The blinds were pulled, which explained why it was pitch black in the room.

“...Yeahhh, this is real interesting, Keith,” noted Lance sarcastically. Keith rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, well, I doubt you had a better idea-” He was cut off as the light on his phone suddenly went off, and darkness surrounded them once more. Keith felt the hand on his arm tighten, almost to the point of being painful.

“Keith!” Lance whisper-shouted, practically pressing himself against Keith. Was he… was he shaking? “Turn on the light! Where’d the light go?”

“I don’t know! Calm down,” He whispered back, messing with his phone. Why wasn’t it working? “...I think my phone died.”

“Oh my god.” The other groaned, and Keith felt something plop against his shoulder. Lance’s head. He was still shivering- or shaking- Keith couldn’t determine which. But it wasn’t exactly cold in there…

“Come on,” he began, feeling over until he found Lance’s hand. He took it, and he gripped his hand like a lifeline. As Keith began slowly moving back towards the exit, indicated by a small sliver of light underneath the door, Lance followed closely, practically on top of him. “It’s fine, Lance. We’re right there.” He was kind of worried about him. Why was he freaking out so much?

“I-I’m fine,” Lance muttered, as they approached the door. Keith reached out, feeling along the door until he felt the handle. He opened it, and they poured out into the hall. He felt Lance exhale beside him, automatically relaxing. Until he tensed up again?

Keith looked over at him with knitted eyebrows, and then followed his wide-eyed gaze. _Oh fuck._

A man with raised eyebrows stood before them. He just had a take-no-shit-give-no-shit attitude about him. He wore a long, worn coat, and had a leather messenger bag slung over his shoulder. He looked kind of tired.

“P-professor Terren!” Lance said loudly, plastering on a nervous smile. “Um, we were just-”

“Lance was just telling me to get out of your classroom. I’m new here. I came here yesterday, actually. I didn’t know we weren’t supposed to go in the class without a teacher present.” Keith was the master of bullshittery. It was probably one of the reasons he had stayed in high school for so long.

Lance looked surprised, but only momentarily. “Yeah! He didn’t know. We were just leaving.”

The professor looked them, and then glanced at the slightly open door behind them. “You didn’t touch anything, did you?” He asked warily. Lance quickly shook his head, and it seemed to convince him. Or maybe he was too tired to care they had been snooping in his classroom? “Alright, good. Next time you decide to sneak into someone’s room, don’t touch anything. And turn the lights on. No one needs to get sued because you tripped on your own feet and impaled your face on something…” He couldn’t tell if the “next time” part was sarcastic or not.

“...Right,” he confirmed, with a nod.

Professor Terren looked at Lance. “Keep an eye on him, will you? Unless you want your buddy to get in trouble.” He glanced at Keith before he moved past them, slipping into his classroom and closing the door.

Lance let out a relieved breath, and Keith noticed he was still holding onto Keith when they began quickly leaving the building. Not that he was complaining. He could feel the heat radiating off of him, and it was kind of nice.

“That’s enough exploring for one day.” Keith looked over at Lance as he spoke, smiling a bit. “I still don’t know why I did that with you! We got caught! That was such a stupid idea.”

“Well, it made our walk more eventful, didn’t it?” He pointed out.

“That was not the kind of excitement I want to experience again,” Lance said, shaking his head. But when he glanced over, and saw Keith smiling, he smiled a little too. “...I guess it was a more memorable walk than it was going to be. But we should go back.” Keith nodded in agreement.

Lance held onto Keith’s arm on the way back, significantly more gently than he had when they had been in Professor Terren’s room. It didn’t take long to get back to the nearby dorms, and at their door, they paused.

“Oh, shit- keys are in my pocket.” Lance looked over at him expectantly. He looked at him with a blank expression. His pocket? Why didn’t he get them, then? Lance rolled his eyes. “Nevermind, I’ve got it.” He reached over, and Keith stiffened as he put his hand into the pocket of his hoodie, pulling out a pair of keys. _Oh… his hoodie pocket._ Right. Keith still had his hoodie.

Lance unlocked the door, and they both went inside. Keith went to lay on his creaky bed, while Lance seemed to be getting some clothes together. He watched him, wondering what he was up to. “I’m going to shower and sleep early. I’ve got a class at nine tomorrow.” He sighed, apparently upset by the idea.

“Oh. Alright.” Keith nodded, sitting up a little. Lance disappeared into the bathroom, and he could hear the shower start. He got up to change into sleeping clothes of his own, just a comfortable shirt and some boxers. And then he just slipped Lance’s hoodie on over it. It was comfortable, no one could judge him for valuing comfortable jackets.

He slipped back onto his bed, sitting for a moment before he resorted to his charging phone for entertainment. It was another ten minutes of scrolling through terrible memes that he heard the singing. He looked over at the bathroom, where it seemed to be coming from. He couldn’t make out the words, but Lance sounded like he was singing to some pop song. And… he wasn’t half bad, actually. He put his phone down to listen, convincing himself that that was not creepy at all. His roommate was singing in the shower, sue him for not ignoring it. At least he wasn’t being a dickbag and recording it.

Unfortunately, the singing only went on for another ten minutes. Then he couldn’t hear Lance over the sounds of the shower, so Keith went back to his meming. It was another half hour before Lance came out of the bathroom, and the room was filled with the fresh smell of whatever he had been using in there. Lance yawned, already in his pajamas, and went to turn off the light. Keith blinked, noticing something light up near Lance’s bed. _Holy shit he has a night light._ It was a cute little night light, emitting a nice aquamarine light that danced up the wall, illuminating the room in a dull glow. It looked like a little blue Earth, and the land masses were a darker blue than the ocean. _That’s adorable…?_

“Goodnight, Keith,” Lance said, making Keith look at him.  
“Um, yeah. Goodnight.” He watched Lance slip into bed comfortably, and returned his gaze to the small blue light. _He really is afraid of the dark._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so Lance is afraid of the dark and Keith is totally stealing his jacket, by the way.  
> And I was not the first one to come up with the Keith looking like Jojo from "Horton Hears A Who" thing. But it's hilarious because the resemblance is definitely there.


End file.
